CRICKET: New Zealand won the third and final Test by 78 runs shortly before 3.0 here yesterday afternoon and squared the series at one win apiece. A low catch to Nathan Astle at second slip, a team huddle to celebrate, then amid the crowd's acclaim, they were led off by Adam Parore after his last match.

It was the Kiwis' first home win against England since 1984, and when Parore caught Graham Thorpe he became only the seventh wicketkeeper with 200 Test victims. Asked to make 312 to win, England were bowled out for 233 in 63 overs. The New Zealand pace bowlers used deteriorating conditions to good effect.

There were three wickets apiece for Daryl Tuffey, Chris Drum and Andre Adams, and one for Astle's occasional medium pace which, paradoxically, proved the most dangerous. So unpredictable was the bounce, Parore, standing up to Astle, spent some of his last cricketing moments with his head in a helmet.

Only when Nasser Hussain was at the crease did England nurse real hopes of reaching their target after three wickets - those of Mark Butcher, Thorpe and Andy Flintoff - fell in the space of nine balls before lunch, reducing them to 125 for five.

The England captain played brilliantly making 82 from 119 balls, with 13 fours and a six, before he chipped a gentle but well-taken return catch to Adams from the leading edge. Other contributions came from Michael Vaughan (36), Butcher (35) and Jamie Foster (23).

So a series which England must have thought they had in the bag when Andy Caddick and Matthew Hoggard had reduced New Zealand to 19 for four on the first day ended all square. The man of the match award had already gone to Tuffey for match figures of nine for 116, and the car for the Test cricketer of the summer went to Astle. No more important innings was played for New Zealand than his 65 on Tuesday which spurred them towards victory.

This was a frenetic Test disrupted by the weather - the entire second day was lost - and yet it was completed with more than a session in hand. A total of 247 overs was all it took for it to be completed, with runs coming at an average of 3.5 an over in its entirety and four for the final two days.

New Zealand's captain Stephen Fleming could not hide his satisfaction at the way his decision to bat first had been vindicated. He had felt the dampness of the pitch at the outset would mean more problems in the final innings, as proved to be. "It was a gamble in a way," he said. "We knew it would go around at the start but were not sure how much. But even after we found ourselves at 19 for four I felt comfortable with the decision. We were looking for the last innings to be the important one."

Guardian Service